Here's What Your Cabin & Air Filters Look Like (Likely)

Point taken and I suspect you're right based on your other comments about the photo.

I am. I check them regularly and will change them when I think they need it. Like I said, even though I've got almost 35,000 miles on them, those are mostly cross-country highway miles and the filters look just fine. I don't have any problem with changing them, they are cheap enough and easy to do, but I don't believe in wasting money either. FWIW, I've been changing filters since my first part-time job was at a service station during high school in 1964, so I think I know when I need to change them.

I wasn't really taking about the cabin filter, though according to the manual it filters "dust and pollen", which I think are part of smog.

No one suggested not changing filters. Some people change them yearly whether they need it or not, I'm not one of those. All I'm saying is that pm is not just replacing things early, it's checking and cleaning too. Some folks change their oil twice as often as recommended. If that works for them, fine, but that doesn't mean those who don't are anti-pm.

And based on what your cabin filter looked like (assuming it really wasn't carbon), I'd say there was a lot of stuff that some cheap filters might not have caught and the effect of that is arguably not desirable. I err on the side of caution and buy filters that at least meet OEM specs. I will agree that buying more filter capability that one needs is probably a waste of money, though I suppose there are those who will argue that too.

And given how those air filters look, I shudder to think what the oil and oil filter look like. The previous owner might not have changed the oil very often either.

 

Me either, but there are plenty here who try to, or at least criticize those who don't do things their way.

I assume you'll be changing the oil yourself, so you'll see what it looks like, and since the filter is a cartridge, you might get a good idea of things there too. Some might even suggest changing the oil again in a short time, but you can probably just check the oil level frequently to see how dirty it gets.

 

Maybe so, but for those too young to remember ... In principle, it's identical to the cartridge filters used back in the dark ages before spin-on filters appeared for our convenience, circa the late 1950s. The differences are that today's cartridges are much much smaller than the old ones (with correspondingly reduced capacity), have eliminated the metal components, and come in a light plastic housing that requires a special tool to open (vs. a heavy steel housing with a heavy steel cover removable with an ordinary wrench).

 

Certainly it wont hurt to change those filters when you buy a used car, it don't require equipment, skills. And it doesn't cost much as well. I also bought Prius couple months ago and 60K is coming, so I'll change them myself.

 

Meh, the Honda oil filter socket I bought in the mid-eighties does the trick. You need 14 face, and 64.5 mm face-to-face, and it should be solid, well made.

The one on the left is older style that Honda used to use. The right side is current size, common to Honda and Toyota:

 

I've been thinking of ordering stuff from china myself, but I keep getting worried about the quality.

How long have you used the items you purchased and how would you rate them on a scale of 1 to 10?

XT1060 ?